Vehicle platooning systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for coordinating and controlling vehicles, for example heavy trucks, to follow closely behind each other, or linking, in a convenient, safe manner and thus to save significant amounts of fuel while increasing safety. In an embodiment, on-board controllers in each vehicle interact with vehicular sensors to monitor and control, for example, relative distance, relative acceleration/deceleration, and speed. Additional safety features in at least some embodiments include providing each driver with one or more visual displays of forward and rearward looking cameras. Long-range communications are provided for coordinating vehicles for linking, and for communicating analytics to fleet managers or others.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/589,124, filed May 8, 2017 which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/855,044, filed Sep. 15, 2015, which is a 371 ofInternational Application PCT/US14/30770, filed Mar. 17, 2014, which inturn is a conversion of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/792,304,filed Mar. 15, 2013, and further is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.14/292,583 filed May 30, 2014, which is a Division of Ser. No.13/542,622, filed Jul. 5, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,744,666, which inturn is a conversion of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/505,076,filed on Jul. 6, 2011, both entitled “Systems and Methods forSemi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying”; and which is also a Division ofSer. No. 13/542,627, filed Jul. 5, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,582,006,which in turn is also a conversion of Ser. No. 61/505,076, filed Jul. 6,2011. Applicant claims the benefit of priority of each of the foregoingapplications, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates generally to safety and fuel savings systemsfor vehicles, and more particularly relates to systems and methods forenabling at least a second vehicle to follow, safely, a first vehicle ata close distance, where a plurality of safety features can be usedsingly or in combination. In addition, other aspects of the inventionprovide analytics useful for assessing driver performance anddetermining cost savings.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to systems and methods for enablingvehicles to closely follow one another safely through partialautomation. Following closely behind another vehicle has significantfuel savings benefits, but is generally unsafe when done manually by thedriver. On the opposite end of the spectrum, fully autonomous solutionsrequire inordinate amounts of technology, and a level of robustness thatis currently not cost effective.

Currently the longitudinal motion of vehicles is controlled duringnormal driving either manually or by convenience systems, and, duringrare emergencies, it may be controlled by active safety systems.

Convenience systems, such as adaptive cruise control, control the speedof the vehicle to make it more pleasurable or relaxing for the driver,by partially automating the driving task. These systems use rangesensors and vehicle sensors to then control the speed to maintain aconstant headway to the leading vehicle. In general these systemsprovide zero added safety, and do not have full control authority overthe vehicle (in terms of being able to fully brake or accelerate) butthey do make the driving task easier, which is welcomed by the driver.

Some safety systems try to actively prevent accidents, by braking thevehicle automatically (without driver input), or assisting the driver inbraking the vehicle, to avoid a collision. These systems generally addzero convenience, and are only used in emergency situations, but theyare able to fully control the longitudinal motion of the vehicle.

Manual control by a driver is lacking in capability compared to even thecurrent systems, in several ways. First, a manual driver cannot safelymaintain a close following distance. In fact, the types of distance toget any measurable gain results in an unsafe condition, risking a costlyand destructive accident. Second, the manual driver is not as reliableat maintaining a constant headway as an automated system. Third, amanual driver, when trying to maintain a constant headway, generallycauses rapid and large changes in command (accelerator pedal positionfor example) which result in a loss of efficiency.

It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for reliable andeconomical Semi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying. These improvedSemi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying Systems enable vehicles to followclosely together in a safe, efficient, convenient manner.

SUMMARY

The system and methods which form the invention described hereincombines attributes of state of the art convenience, safety systems andmanual control to provide a safe, efficient convoying, or platooning,solution. The present invention achieves this objective by combiningelements of active vehicle monitoring and control with communicationtechniques that permit drivers of both lead and trailing vehicles tohave a clear understanding of their motoring environment, including avariety of visual displays, while offering increased convenience to thedrivers together with the features and functionality of a manuallycontrolled vehicle.

To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention,systems and methods for a Semi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying areprovided. In particular the systems and methods of the present inventionprovide for: 1) a close following distance to save significant fuel; 2)safety in the event of emergency maneuvers by the leading vehicle; 3)safety in the event of component failures in the system; 4) an efficientmechanism for vehicles to find a partner vehicle to follow or befollowed by; 5) an intelligent ordering of the vehicles based on severalcriteria; 6) other fuel economy optimizations made possible by the closefollowing; 7) control algorithms to ensure smooth, comfortable, precisemaintenance of the following distance; 8) robust failsafe mechanicalhardware; 9) robust failsafe electronics and communication; 10) othercommunication between the vehicles for the benefit of the driver; 11)prevention of other types of accidents unrelated to the close followingmode; and, 12) a simpler embodiment to enable a vehicle to serve as alead vehicle without the full system.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the variousfeatures of the present invention described herein can be practicedalone or in combination. These and other features of the presentinvention will be described in more detail below in the detaileddescription of the invention and in conjunction with the followingfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention may be more clearly ascertained,some embodiments will now be described, by way of illustration, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the airflow around a heavy truck, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 2 shows US transportation fuel use.

FIG. 3A shows typical fleet expenses for a heavy truck fleet.

FIG. 3B shows typical heavy truck fuel use from aerodynamic drag.

FIG. 4 shows typical fuel savings for a set of linked trucks.

FIG. 5 shows fuel savings versus following distance gap for a set ofheavy trucks.

FIG. 6A shows an example of long range coordination between two trucksin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B illustrates the geofencing capability of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A-7C show an example of short range linking between two trucks,from available to linking to linked.

FIG. 8A illustrates exemplary long range communications between trucks.

FIG. 8B illustrates a variety of factors that a central server mightconsider in determining candidates for linking.

FIG. 9A illustrates an embodiment of short range communications betweentrucks.

FIG. 9B illustrates the communications links which provide the shortrange communications of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 illustrates the establishment of a linked pair as the result ofthe short range communications between trucks.

FIG. 11A shows an exemplary installation of system components for oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11B shows an embodiment in which the view from a forward lookingcamera in a lead truck is displayed to the driver of a following truck.

FIG. 12 illustrates, in simplified block diagram form, an embodiment ofa vehicular convoying control system in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIGS. 13A-B illustrate, in greater detail than FIG. 12, the componentsof the control system which cooperate with the control processor of FIG.12.

FIG. 14 shows exemplary components for a simplified version of theembodiment of FIG. 12, suitable for a lead vehicle.

FIGS. 15A-B show, in flow diagram form, an embodiment of a process forcoordination and linking in accordance with the invention, includingconsideration of factors specific to the vehicles.

FIGS. 16A-B show some additional safety features for some embodiments.

FIG. 17 shows one exemplary embodiment of aerodynamic optimization foruse with convoying vehicles.

FIG. 18 illustrates additional safety features provided by an embodimentof the present invention, and particularly warnings and alerts.

FIG. 19 illustrates a brake test safety feature provided by anembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 20A-B illustrate in block diagram form an aspect of someembodiments of the invention for providing a variety of metrics forassessing truck and driver performance, and for routing appropriateinformation to the driver and the fleet manager.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference toseveral embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the presentinvention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, thatembodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structureshave not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscurethe present invention. The features and advantages of embodiments may bebetter understood with reference to the drawings and discussions thatfollow.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for aSemi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying. Such a system enables vehicles tofollow closely behind each other, in a convenient, safe manner. Forconvenience of illustration, the exemplary vehicles referred to in thefollowing description will, in general, be large trucks, but thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that many, if not all, of thefeatures described herein also apply to many other types of vehicles.

To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1 shows the airflow around a typicaltruck 100, illustrating both the relatively laminar airflow along thetruck's roof and sides and the substantially turbulent flow at the rearof the truck. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that avehicle's aerodynamic smoothness, related to the truck's frontal areaand shape, affect total drag. The system of the present invention isaimed at reducing the drag caused by this type of airflow. This drag isresponsible for the majority of fuel used in transportation, especiallyin the Heavy Truck sector (see FIG. 2). The expense of this fuel issignificant for all private and industrial vehicle users, but especiallyso for heavy truck fleets, where the fuel is about 40% of operatingexpenses (see FIG. 3A). As shown in FIG. 3B, the wind resistance for atypical truck 100 is approximately 63% of engine power at highwayspeeds. This wind resistance power is approximately proportional tovehicle speed to the third power, asDrag_Power=Cd*(Area*0.5*density*Velocity{circumflex over ( )}3), whereCd is the coefficient of drag and is a function of the object's shape.

Embodiments of the present invention enable vehicles to follow closelytogether and to achieve significant fuel savings, both for the lead andthe trailing vehicles, as illustrated in FIG. 4 where two heavy trucksare shown following closely. FIG. 5 (from “Development and Evaluation ofSelected Mobility Applications for VII (a.k.a. IntelliDrive)”, Shladover2009) shows the fuel savings possible for heavy trucks at various gaps.

In accordance with the present invention, a key part of thefunctionality of one such embodiment is long range coordination betweenthe vehicles, which, in an embodiment, is managed from a centrallocation, but, alternatively, can be initiated and managed by the truckdrivers. As shown in FIG. 6A, this serves to allow vehicles 410 and 420to find linking partners, where information concerning each truck suchas shown at 615 and 625, is available to, for example, the centrallocation. In an embodiment, unique indicia, such as a serial number, isassociated with each vehicle available for linking. The unique indiciacan, in an embodiment, be unique among all vehicles that are potentiallyavailable for linking, whether or not available at a specific time andlocation; or, in an alternative embodiment, the indicia can betemporarily assigned, for example as part of the process of identifyingand selecting candidates for linking, and can be unique only amongvehicles that are candidates for linking at a particular time andlocation. In a still further alternative, the permanent or temporarilyunique indicia can be assigned not only to vehicles available forlinking, but to all vehicles proximate to vehicles having the system ofthe present invention, such that each such “neighboring” vehicle ismonitored for movements that might require an evasive maneuver or othersafety-related action. Such an arrangement provides improved situationalawareness, and the movements of such other vehicles can be recorded forsafety and liability purposes. In some embodiments, rear or side viewcameras, lidar or radar can provide improved detection and monitoring ofneighboring vehicles. The system has some knowledge of the locationand/or destination of the self-vehicle and of other equipped vehicles onthe road. The system can thus suggest nearby vehicles with which tolink. Numerous other factors can also be taken into account beforeselecting trucks to link, as discussed hereinafter at least inconnection with FIGS. 15A-C. The factors discussed in connection withFIGS. 15A-15C become relevant, the trucks must be traveling, oravailable to be coordinated to travel, on the same route, in an areawhere linking will provide the desired fuel savings and safety benefits.Thus, as shown in FIG. 6A, the two trucks are traveling on a stretch ofmajor highway, both going the same direction, and neither is alreadylinked. This provides, at least initially, some motivation to link thetwo trucks.

However, some areas of roadways are not well-suited to linking. Forexample, and as shown in FIG. 6B, while the majority of a highway systemmay be adequate for enabling linking, indicated at 630, specific areasmay be known to be undesirable for linking for one reason or another,and thus trucks in those areas are disabled from linking, indicated at635. Problem areas, where linking is disabled, can result from, amongother things, a grade or a downgrade, a city, lack of a divided highwayor other adverse roadway characteristics, weather, militaryinstallations, RF or microwave interference, or, in some cases, lowoverpasses. For routes that include low overpasses, the central locationcan simply provide different routing for trucks too tall to clear. Inthe event that a too-tall truck ends up on a route with a low overpass,an embodiment of the present invention can apply brakes or otherwisegenerate a warning, as discussed in greater detail hereinafter inconnection with FIG. 18.

Should it be desirable for two trucks to link, the result is as shown inFIGS. 7A-7C, where trucks 410 and 420 move to within a few feet of eachother, for example in the range of 10 feet to approximately 500 feet,and the displays 615 and 625 show that a merge is allowed and that thetrucks are available for linking, then linking, and then linked. In anembodiment of the semi-autonomous system of the present invention, thetrucks are brought generally proximate to one another through thecoordination of a central system together with long range communication.

FIGS. 8A-8B show the technology to enable such a system: in FIG. 8A, along range communication system 880 and a central server 890 provide acommunication link to each of trucks 410 and 420. As shown in FIG. 8B,the server 890 and/or the system onboard each vehicle 410, 420, makesdecisions and suggestions based on knowledge of one or more of vehiclelocation, destination, load, weather, traffic conditions, vehicle type,trailer type, recent history of linking, fuel price, driver history, andother factors, all as shown at 830A-n. When a linking opportunitypresents itself, the driver is notified via driver display 840,discussed in great detail in FIGS. 11A-B. At that point, the driver canmanually adjust the vehicle speed to reduce the distance between thevehicles, or the system can automatically adjust the speed. In someinstances, the central server or on-board systems will conclude that thepair is not suitable for linking, and linking is disabled as shown at850.

These linking opportunities can also be determined while the vehicle isstationary, such as at a truck stop, rest stop, weigh station,warehouse, depot, etc. They can also be calculated ahead of time by thefleet manager or other associated personnel. They may be scheduled attime of departure, or hours or days ahead of time, or may be foundad-hoc while on the road, with or without the assistance of thecoordination functionality of the system. In addition, linking ofvehicles within a yard is also possible, and can improve traffic flowwhile reducing emissions even as vehicles operate at low speed.

The determination of which vehicle to suggest for linking may take intoaccount several factors, and choose an optimum such as the vehicle whichminimizes a cost function. For example, it may minimize a weighted costfunction of the distance between the vehicles and the distance betweentheir destinations:Optimum=min(W_(p)(Pos_(a)−Pos_(b))²+W_(d)(Des_(a)−Des_(b))²), whereW_(p) and W_(d) are the weights on the two cost terms respectively. Thiscost function could have any of the factors listed above.

Once the two vehicles or drivers have decided to coordinate, either bychoice or at the suggestion of the coordination functionality of theinvention, they can manually adjust their speed, or it can be automatic.If manual, the system may suggest to the lead driver to slow down, andto the follower to speed up. Or if the leader is stationary (at a truckstop, rest stop, etc.), it may suggest that he delay his departure theappropriate amount of time. These suggestions may be based on vehiclespeed, destination, driver history, or other factors. If the systemautomatically controls the speed, it may operate the truck in a CruiseControl or Adaptive Cruise Control type mode, with the speed chosen tobring the two vehicles closer together. The system may also operate in asemi-automatic mode, where it limits the speed of the leading vehicle,to bring them closer together.

In an embodiment, once the vehicles are sufficiently close together,communications between the vehicles is controlled locally, as shown inFIGS. 9A-B, rather than by the long range coordination system of FIG.8A. This ensures more accurate control of relative speed and distancebetween the vehicles. In one implementation, each of trucks 410 and 420has an on-board control processor 900 and associated communicationsinterface 905. In addition, each vehicle senses various characteristicsof vehicle performance, such as speed, relative distance to the othertruck, braking application and/or pressure, engine or drivetrain torque,system faults, and other characteristics, and those characteristics arecommunicated as appropriate to the other control processor. In anembodiment, the control processor in the lead truck takes control of therear vehicle 420 and controls it to a close following distance behindthe front vehicle 410. Alternatively, and as discussed in more detail inconnection with FIG. 13B, the control processor in the lead truckcommunicates its status to the control processor in the trailing truck,and vice versa, to cause the trucks to move into close proximity to oneanother while each remains under the control of its on-board controlprocessor. In some embodiments, communications more critical to safetycan be given prior over other types of communication among the vehicles.For example, brake application data or commands can be given priorityover video transmission.

As a further alternative, one of the drivers may use an input to thesystem, which input can be by means of a touch sensitive display with agraphical user interface (GUI), for example, to activate thistransition. As discussed above, key technology to allow this linkingcomprises primarily a distance/relative speed sensor, and acommunication link. The type of functionality of this link is shown inFIG. 10, where information about a braking event is sent from the frontvehicle 410 to the rear vehicle 420. Other information may includeaccelerometer data (filtered or unfiltered), brake pressure, tirepressure, information about obstacles or other vehicles in front of thelead truck. Also, any of the above data may be passed from the fronttruck 410 to the rear truck 420 that relates to trucks in front of thepair (for example, to allow safe platoons of three or more trucks.)During the linked, close-following mode, the system controls the enginetorque and braking, with no driver intervention required. In someembodiments, the driver is still steering the vehicle; in others,autonomous steering can be used.

The linking event can comprise a smooth transition to the close distancefollowing. This may take the form of a smooth target trajectory, withfunctionality in a controller that tries to follow this trajectory.Using D_(m) as the safe relative distance in manual mode, and D_(a) asthe desired distance in semi-autonomous following mode, and a time Ttfor the transition to occur, the target distance may beD_(g)=D_(m)+(D_(a)−D_(m))*(1−cos(pi*t/T_(d)))/2 for t less than or equalto T_(d). Thus in this way the change in gap per time is smallest at thebeginning and the end of the transition, and largest in the middle,providing a smooth response. Other possible forms of this equationinclude exponentials, quadratics or higher powers, hyperbolictrigonometric functions, or a linear change. This shape can also becalculated dynamically, changing while the maneuver is performed basedon changing conditions or other inputs.

The driver can deactivate the system in several ways. Application of thebrake pedal can restore conventional manual control, or can trigger amode where the driver's braking is simply added to the system's braking.Applying the accelerator pedal can also deactivate the system, returningto a manual mode. Other driver inputs that can trigger a systemdeactivation, depending upon the implementation, include: Turn signalapplication, steering inputs larger or faster than a threshold, clutchpedal application, a gear change, Jake (compression) brake application,trailer brake application, ignition key-off, and others. The driver canalso deactivate the system by selecting an option on the GUI screen orother input device.

In the event of any system malfunction, including but not limited tocomponent failures, software failures, mechanical damage, etc., thesystem may react in one of several safe ways. In general the trailingtruck will reduce engine torque and/or start braking to ensure a safegap is maintained. This braking may continue until the trailing truckhas come to a complete stop, or it may continue only until a nominallysafe distance is achieved (safe without automated control), or it maycontinue only until the malfunction has been identified. Additionally,one of several alerts may be used to notify the driver of themalfunction and subsequent action of the control system: A braking jerk,consisting of a small braking command, an audible tone, a seatvibration, a display on the GUI or other display, flashing theinstrument cluster or other interior lights, increasing or decreasingengine torque momentarily, activation of the “Jake” (compression) brake,or other useful alerts.

To enable some or all of the described functionality, the system mayhave some or all of the following components shown in FIG. 11A: anaccelerator pedal interceptor 1140, either on the communications andcontrol bus found in most modern trucks, or sensed and modified as arange or set of analog voltages, to be used to command torque from theengine in a manner which resembles a highly refined cruise control; amodified brake valve 1150, which allows the system to command brakingeven in the absence of driver command; a forward-looking RADAR or LIDARunit 1130 which senses distance to and relative speed with respect tothe vehicle in front 410; a user interface 1120, which may also house aforward looking camera, by which the driver can interact with andcontrol the system; an antenna array 1110, used for the short and longrange communication systems; and a GPS receiver, which can be aprecision GPS, differential GPS, or other GNSS device.

The benefit of the forward looking camera, available either as part ofinterface 1120 or independently, provides a significant safety benefit,which can be appreciated from FIG. 11B. FIG. 11B shows, at 1160, theview seen by the driver of the trailing truck in a linked pair: thedriver sees mostly the back of the lead truck, as well as some space toeach side of the lead truck. However, in an embodiment, a display 1170of the forward-looking camera 1120 in the lead truck is provided to thedriver of the trailing truck, thus providing the driver of the trailingtruck an unobstructed view of what is ahead of the linked pair oftrucks. This permits the driver of the second truck to operate thetrailing vehicle with the same knowledge of the road ahead as the leadvehicle, including observing unexpected developments, hazards, traffic,etc. The display 1170 can be visor or dash mounted, or in any otherconvenient location, and can also comprise a touch screen userinterface, as discussed in greater detail in connection with FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 shows the system architecture for one embodiment 1200. The user1210 interacts with the system through a user interface, which may be aGraphical User Interface 1220, and which is typically, although notnecessarily, integrated with a control processor 1230. Alternatively,the user interface can comprise an additional electronics unit, such asa tablet-style computer which can be mounted in any convenient location,such as the dash or the visor. Such tablets typically include graphicaluser interfaces, although such an interface is not necessary and anyconvenient interface will do. Such tablets often also include a cellularmodem, thus permitting long range communications and coordination, aswell as a GPS. In some implementations, these features can be providedseparately. For purposes of simplicity in the present disclosure, itwill be assumed that the user interface 1220 is a tablet with suchfeatures, including a graphical user interface and touch screen. In analternative embodiment, a smartphone can be substituted for the tablet.In other embodiments, the processing capability required by the systemof FIG. 12 can be provided by the tablet or smartphone. In appropriateembodiments, such tablets or smartphones can serve as the corecontroller, the user interface panel, or can provide some or all of thevehicle-to-vehicle link through either cellular connectivity, Bluetooth,WiFi, or other suitable connection. Such devices can also be connectedto the rest of the system, such as a CAN or J1939 bus, or vehicle ECU's.

The user 1210 receives information (a) from visual and or auditoryalerts, and can make system requests (e.g., for linking orcoordination). The user interface 1220 communicates with a long rangedata link 1240 (b), such as through a cellular modem or other service.The user interface 1220 is responsible for managing this data link,sending data via the link, and receiving data via the link. A controlprocessor 1230 (which may be alternatively integrated with the GUI box)receives sensor information 1250 (c), short range data link 1260information (e), and controls the actuators 1270 (f). It receivesinformation from the user interface 1220 via a wired or wireless link(d), and sends information to the user interface 1220 to be relayed tothe driver and/or long range communication link 1240. Alternately, thelong range communication link 1240 can connect directly to the controlbox 1230. In this case, the user interface 1220 may be an extremelysimple (low cost) device, or may even be eliminated from the systementirely.

FIG. 13A shows one embodiment of a vehicle control unit 1300 inaccordance with the present invention while FIG. 13B shows in processflow form the exchange of information between the vehicle control units1300 of both the lead and trailing trucks. In particular, and withreference to FIG. 13A, the unit 1300 comprises at least one controlprocessor 1230, which communicates with various core sensors such asradar/lidar 1310, accelerometers 1320, data links 1360, and alsocommunicates with actuators such as brake valve 1340 and acceleratorcommand unit 1390. Via connection (a), typically but not necessarily aCAN interface, the control processor 1230 configures the radar unit 1310and receives data. Connection (b) to accelerometers 1320, which can bewireless, gives the control box acceleration information in 1, 2 or 3axes as well as rotation rate information about 1, 2 or 3 axes. In someembodiments, gyros can be substituted for accelerometers, especiallyfor, for example, rotation rate. The data link 1360, shown at (c) andillustrated in greater detail below as indicated by the dashed lines,provides information about relevant characteristics of the leading truck410, including its acceleration, or is used to provide the same orsimilar information to a following truck 420. The brake valve 1340 (d)provides data on brake pressure, and is used to apply pressure via acommand from the control processor 1230. The accelerator command 1390 issent via an analog voltage or a communications signal (CAN orotherwise). The control processor performs calculations to process thesensor information, information from the GUI, and any other datasources, and determine the correct set of actuator commands to attainthe current goal (example: maintaining a constant following distance tothe preceding vehicle). The data links 1360 can comprise a link to thetruck manufacturer's engine control unit 1370, a wireless link 1375 forcommunications and a link to other aspects of the vehicle as shown at1365. Each of these links can, depending upon the embodiment, bebidirectional.

The operation of the vehicle control unit 1300 of the present inventioncan be better appreciated from FIG. 13B, which shows, for an embodiment,the general flow between the vehicle control units 1300 of two linkedvehicles. Two modes of operation are possible: in a first mode, thefront truck's control unit 1300 issues commands to the back truck'scontrol unit, and those commands are, in general, followed, but can beignored in appropriate circumstances, such as safety. In a second mode,the front truck's control unit sends data to the second truck, advisingthe trailing truck of the data sensed by the lead truck and the actionsbeing taken by the lead truck. The second truck's control unit thenoperates on that data from the front truck to take appropriate action.As shown at 1305, the following or trailing truck sends data about itsoperation to the front or lead truck. At 1315, the lead truck receivesthe data from the trailing truck, and senses motion and/or externalobjects and/or communication inputs. The lead truck then decides uponactions for the lead truck, shown at 1325, and, if operating in thefirst mode, also decides upon actions for the back truck, shown at 1330.Then, depending upon whether operating in first or second mode, the leadtruck either sends commands (1335) to the trailing truck (first mode),or sends data (1345) to the trailing truck (second mode). If operatingin the first mode, the second truck receives the commands and performsthem at 1350, with the caveat that the second truck can also chose toignore such commands in some embodiments. If operating in the secondmode, the second truck receives the data at 1355, and decides whatactions to perform. Because the control programs for both units 1300 arethe same, in most cases the resulting control of the second truck willbe identical regardless of operating mode. Finally, the second truckcommunicates to the front truck what actions it has taken, so that eachtruck knows the state of the other. In at least some embodiments, thisprocess is repeated substantially continually to ensure that each truckhas the current state of the other truck, thus ensuring safe andpredictable operation of each truck, even when operating in close-orderformation at highway speeds.

FIG. 15A shows one embodiment of the coordination and linkingfunctionality. First, the system identifies a vehicle available forcoordination 1510 (example: within a certain range, depending on theroute of the two vehicles). Once one of the vehicles has accepted 1522or 1524, the other can then accept, meaning that the pair has agreed tocoordinate for possible linking 1530. Depending on vehicle positioning,weight of load, vehicle equipment, and other factors, a vehicle withinlinking range may be identified as a Following Vehicle Available forLinking 1542 or a Leading Vehicle Available for Linking 1544. If neitherof these is the case, the system returns to coordination mode. Once aFollowing Vehicle Available for Coordination has Accepted the link 1552,the Self Vehicle then also accepts the link 1553, initiating the link.Upon completion of the link, the vehicles are now linked 1562.Similarly, once a Leading Vehicle Available for Coordination hasAccepted the link 1554, the Self Vehicle then also accepts the link1555, initiating the link. Upon completion of the link, the vehicles arenow linked 1564.

FIG. 15B illustrates an embodiment of a process by which the vehiclemass of the truck is taken into account to determine whether aparticular truck pair is suitable for linking and, if so, which truckshould lead, and at what gap. In FIG. 15B, engine torque andacceleration are sensed at 1576. Because, in at least some embodiments,the vehicle control unit 1300 knows a variety of details about the truckon which the system is installed (including either torque, engine speed,and acceleration, or power and acceleration) the engine torque andacceleration permits vehicle mass to be calculated, shown at 1578. Basedupon that calculation for each truck in the pair, the trucks aredetermined either to be suitable for linking, or not. If they aresuitable for linking, shown at 1580, a determination as to which truckshould lead is made at 1582, using the factors mentioned above. In someinstances, the characteristics of the truck, such as load, etc., maycause the control units 1300 of the respective trucks to adjust the gapbetween the trucks, or the algorithm by which distance is adjusted withspeed, as shown at 1584. Other operating characteristics that can,depending upon the embodiment, influence the adjustment of distance caninclude type of brakes installed, recent brake use, time/distance sincemaintenance, tire life, type of tires, and temperature. Further, if anexit, interchange, or other road feature or condition is encountered, oris being approached (for example, as detected by vehicle sensors orcommunicated from an external source such as the fleet office) then thedistance can be increased to provide visibility to the rear driver.Additionally for an upcoming exit the rear truck or both trucks can beset to coast to avoid braking at the off-ramp. In some embodiments, thefollowing distance can also be adjusted based on other upcoming featuresof the road or greater environment, to ensure safety, make the drivermore comfortable, or for other reasons. Dangerous low overpasses,inspection stations, road grade, or areas identified as dangerous, canall be used to adjust the following distance. These features can beidentified from map data, internet data, or other source. Other featurescan be detected by either or both trucks, either from their on-boardsensors, or from the sensors added for the system. These includeupcoming road curvature, current or upcoming road grade. Current orupcoming traffic can also be identified through radar sensors, theinternet, machine vision, or other methods. In some embodiments, thefollowing distance can also be set based on driver activity. A lack ofsteering input can signify inattention and cause an increase infollowing distance. Similarly, aggressive behavior, shown by aggressivemotion of the steering wheel, pedals or other input, can be used to seta desired distance. The turn signal can also change the distance, forexample to allow space between the vehicles for exiting the road. Thedriver can also select the following distance in some embodiments. Stillfurther, the current fuel economy, the amount of fuel onboard, theprojected range, or other fuel-related parameters may be used to set thefollowing distance. For example the driver may want to follow moreclosely when the fuel level is low, to help reach a destination. Asanother example, the fleet or the driver may have a target fuel economy,and the adjustment of following distance can be used to meet thistarget, within limits appropriate to ensuring safety.

In the event the leading vehicle 410 is required to make emergencymaneuvers, safety is ensured by the use of the communications linkbetween the two vehicles. This link may send some or all of thefollowing: Brake application pressure, brake air supply reservoirpressure, engine torque, engine RPM, compression (Jake) brakeapplication, accelerator pedal position, engine manifold pressure,computed delivered torque, vehicle speed, system faults, batteryvoltage, vehicle acceleration, driver inputs, diagnostic information,braking system condition, and radar/lidar data.

The data link 1260 has very low latency (approximately 10 ms in oneembodiment), and high reliability. This could be, but is not limited to,WiFi, DSRC (802.11p), radio modem, Zigbee, or other industry standardformat. This link could also be a non-industry-standard format. In theevent of a data link loss, the trailing vehicles are typicallyinstructed to immediately start slowing, to ensure that if the frontvehicle happens to brake immediately when the link is lost, the gap canbe maintained safely.

In addition to safe operation during the loss of the data link 1260, thesystem should be safe in the event of failure of components of thesystem. For most failures, the trailing vehicles 420 start braking,until the driver takes control or other sensors determine that thesituation is safe at which point braking can be decreased asappropriate. This ensures that, in the worst case where the frontvehicle 410 starts to brake immediately when a system component fails,the system is still safe. The modified brake valve 1340 is also designedsuch that in the event of a complete failure, the driver can still brakethe vehicle.

Ordering of the vehicles: In an embodiment, the system arranges thevehicles on the road to ensure safety. This order may be determined byvehicle weight/load, weather/road conditions, fuel savings or linkingtime accrued, braking technology on the vehicle, destination or otherfactors. In such an embodiment, the system will (graphically orotherwise) tell the drivers which vehicle should be in the front. Forexample, to mitigate fatigue, the system may cause the trucks toexchange positions on a periodic basis. In embodiments where order isimportant, such as heavy trucks, the system will only perform thelinking functionality if the vehicles are in the correct order. Theorder may be determined by relative positioning measures like GPS,directional detection of the wireless communication, driver input,visual (video or still image) processing, or direct or indirectdetection of aerodynamics through fuel savings or sensors. In anotherembodiment, the system can apply steering or other lateral control,combined with control of engine torque and braking, if needed, toeffectuate the desired order of the vehicles.

FIG. 16A shows some additional safety features the system may have toprevent other types of accidents unrelated to the close following mode.One such feature is to use the video stream from the front lookingcamera to detect drifting within or out of the lane. This is done bylooking at the edges or important features on the leading vehicle 410,and calculating the lateral offset from that vehicle. When it isdetected, the system can react with a braking jerk (a short brakingapplication to get the driver's attention), slowing down, or a brakingjerk in the leading vehicle. Alternatively, and as shown in FIG. 16B, aset of registration marks 1605 can be provided on a display for thedriver of the trailing rig, to permit optimum longitudinal registrationbetween the vehicles. In embodiments having video, portions of the videothat are not important, or change less frequently, can be highlycompressed or not transmitted at all. For example, when trucks arelinked, the back of the lead vehicle does not change significantly, andis not critical. The compression can be varied based on known orcommanded movement of the vehicles. For example if it is known that thevehicles have relative motion laterally, then the image can be shiftedlaterally in an efficient way without sending the raw video.

The system can also use the front mounted radar to detect obstacles orstationary vehicles in the road, even when not in close-following mode.When these are detected, it can apply a braking jerk, slow the vehicle,or provide visual or auditory warnings. The system can also use theaccelerator pedal signal to determine when the driver is not engagedwith the vehicle (or other driver states) and react accordingly, such asslowing the vehicle or disabling the system. These and other warningsand alerts are discussed hereinafter in connection with FIG. 18.

To facilitate rapid deployment, a simpler version of the system enablesvehicles to be a leading vehicle, shown in FIG. 14. The components onthis version are a subset of those on the full system, so there is noautomation. There are several embodiments of this reduced set offunctionality, with different subsets of the components from the fullsystem. One minimal system simply performs two functions: Transmitssufficient data to the trailing vehicle to allow close following, andalerts the front driver to a linking request and allows him/her toaccept or decline it. As such, this version has only the data linkfunctionality 1460. It connects to the brake pressure sensor andelectrical power. This system may also have additional components,including an accelerometer 1450 and/or an extremely simply userinterface and/or long range data communication 1440.

The full system may also provide other fuel economy optimizations. Thesemay include grade-based cruise control, where the speed set-point isdetermined in part by the grade angle of the road and the upcoming road.The system can also set the speed of the vehicles to attain a specificfuel economy, given constraints on arrival time. Displaying the optimumtransmission gear for the driver 1410 can also provide fuel economybenefits.

The system may also suggest an optimal lateral positioning of thetrucks, to increase the fuel savings. For example, with a cross wind, itmay be preferable to have a slight offset between the trucks, such thatthe trailing truck is not aligned perfectly behind the leading truck.This lateral position may be some combination of a relative position tothe surrounding truck(s) or other vehicles, position within the lane,and global position. This lateral position may be indicated by theregistration marks 1605.

The data link between the two vehicles is critical to safety, so thesafety critical data on this link has priority over any other data. Thusthe link can be separated into a safety layer (top priority) and aconvenience layer (lower priority). The critical priority data is thatwhich is used to actively control the trailing vehicle. Examples of thismay include acceleration information, braking information, systemactivation/deactivation, system faults, range or relative speed, orother data streams related to vehicle control. The selection of whichdata is high priority may also be determined, in whole or in part, bythe data being sent and/or received. For example in an emergency brakingsituation, additional data may be included as high priority.

The lower priority convenience portion of the link can be used toprovide data, voice or video to the drivers to increase their pleasureof driving. This can include social interaction with the other drivers,or video from the front vehicle's camera to provide a view of the roadahead. This link can also be used when the vehicle is stationary tooutput diagnostic information gathered while the vehicle was driving. Inaddition, other cameras, and thus other views, can be provided,including providing the driver of the lead truck with a view from theforward-looking camera on the trailing rig, or providing both driverswith sufficient camera views from around each vehicle that all blindspots are eliminated for each driver.

Because the system is tracking the movements of the vehicles, atremendous amount of data about the individual vehicles and about thefleet is available. This information can be processed to provideanalysis of fleet logistics, individual driver performance, vehicleperformance or fuel economy, backhaul opportunities, or others. Theseand other features are discussed hereinafter in connection with FIGS.20A-B.

In an embodiment, the system includes an “allow to merge” button to beused when the driver wants another vehicle to be able to merge inbetween the two vehicles. The button triggers an increase in the vehiclegap to a normal following distance, followed by an automatic resumptionof the close following distance once the merging vehicle has left. Thelength of this gap may be determined by the speed of the vehicles, thecurrent gap, an identification of the vehicle that wishes to merge, theroad type, and other factors. The transition to and from this gap mayhave a smooth shape similar to that used for the original linking event.Using D_(v) as the relative distance to allow a vehicle to cut in, andD_(a) as the desired distance in semi-autonomous following mode, and atime Tt for the transition to occur, the target distance may beD_(g)=D_(a)+(D_(v)−D_(a))*(1−cos(pi*t/T_(d)))/2 for t less than or equalto T_(d).

For vehicles without an automatic transmission, the system can sense theapplication of the clutch pedal by inferring such from the engine speedand vehicle speed. If the ratio is not close to one of the transmissionratios of the vehicle, then the clutch pedal is applied or the vehicleis in neutral. In this event the system should be disengaged, becausethe system no longer has the ability to control torque to the drivewheels. For example this calculation may be performed as a series ofbinary checks, one for each gear:Gear_1=abs(RPM/WheelSpeed−Gear1Ratio)<Gear1Threshold and so on for eachgear. Thus if none of these are true, the clutch pedal is engaged.

The system can estimate the mass of the vehicle to take into accountchanges in load from cargo. The system uses the engine torque andmeasured acceleration to estimate the mass. In simplest form, this saysthat M_total=Force_Wheels/Acceleration. This may also be combined withvarious smoothing algorithms to reject noise, including Kalmanfiltering, Luenberger observers, and others. This estimate is then usedin the control of the vehicle for the trajectory generation, systemfail-safes, the tracking controller, and to decide when full brakingpower is needed. The mass is also used to help determine the order ofthe vehicles on the road.

Many modifications and additions to the embodiments described above arepossible and are within the scope of the present invention. For example,the system may also include the capability to have passenger cars orlight trucks following heavy trucks. This capability may be built in atthe factory to the passenger cars and light trucks, or could be a subsetof the components and functionality described here, e.g., as anaftermarket product.

The system may also include an aerodynamic design optimized for thepurpose of convoying, as shown in FIG. 17. This may be the design of thetractor or trailer, or the design of add-on aerodynamic aids thatoptimize the airflow for the convoy mode. This design may correspond toa specific speed, at which the airflow will be optimized for the convoymode.

For example, a hood may deploy, e.g., slide forward, from the roof ofthe follower vehicle. Portions of the hood may be textured (like anaerodynamic golf ball surface) or may be transparent so as not tofurther obscure the follower driver's view. In another example, theexisting aerodynamic cone of a follower truck may be repositioned,and/or the cone profile dynamically reconfigured, depending on vehicularspeed and weather conditions. This aerodynamic addition or modificationmay be on the top, bottom, sides, front, or back of the trailer ortractor, or a combination thereof.

This aerodynamic design may be to specifically function as a leadvehicle 1710, specifically as a following vehicle 1720, or an optimizedcombination of the two. It may also be adjustable in some way, eitherautomatically or manually, to convert between optimized configurationsto be a lead vehicle, a following vehicle, both, or to be optimized forsolitary travel.

The data link between the two vehicles may be accomplished in one ofseveral ways, including, but not limited to: A standard patch antenna, afixed directional antenna, a steerable phased-array antenna, anunder-tractor antenna, an optical link from the tractor, an optical linkusing one or more brake lights as sender or receiver, or others. In atleast some embodiments, it is desirable to ensure that a line of sightis maintained between the antenna of the lead and following truck, forthose types of communication that require it. Multiple antennas can beused in such embodiments, by, for example using one antenna on each sidemirror of the vehicle, such that one of these antennas is usually inline of sight to an antenna on the other vehicle. The selection betweenthe available antennas can be done based on detected signal strength,for example. In a platooning or automated system, the optimal antennacan be predicted through knowledge of the motion of the vehicles, thecommanded motion, or knowledge of the surrounding vehicles, either fromsensing or from communication. In some embodiments, the placement ofantennas on the vehicle may be chosen specifically for platooning. Forexample if the predetermined distance between the vehicles is known tobe twenty feet, the antenna placement may be chosen to ensure that lineof sight is maintained at a twenty foot spacing. It is also possible tocommand, through the vehicle control unit, that the vehicles maintain aline of sight. Such an approach can be combined with other factors, forexample sidewind, to determine an overall optical relative positionbetween the vehicles. The phase lock loop in the communications modulecan be fed the commanded motion of one or more vehicles, to help predictthe Doppler shift.

The data link, or other components of the system, may be able toactivate the brake lights, in the presence or absence of brake pedal orbrake application.

Other possible modifications include supplemental visual aids fordrivers of follower vehicles, including optical devices such as mirrorsand periscopes, to enable follower drivers to get a betterforward-looking view which is partially obscured by the lead vehicle.

Any portion of the above-described components included in the system maybe in the cab, in the trailer, in each trailer of a multi-trailerconfiguration, or a combination of these locations.

The components may be provided as an add-on system to an existing truck,or some or all of them may be included from the factory. Some of thecomponents may also be from existing systems already installed in thetruck from the factory or as an aftermarket system.

The present invention is also intended to be applicable to current andfuture vehicular types and power sources. For example, the presentinvention is suitable for 2-wheeler, 3-wheelers, 4 wheelers, 6 wheelers,16-wheelers, gas powered, diesel powered, two-stroke, four-stroke,turbine, electric, hybrid, and any combinations thereof. The presentinvention is also consistent with many innovative vehicular technologiessuch as hands-free user interfaces including head-up displays, speechrecognition and speech synthesis, regenerative braking and multiple-axlesteering.

The system may also be combined with other vehicle control systems suchas Electronic Stability Control, Parking Assistance, Blind SpotDetection, Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assistance, Navigation,Grade-Aware Cruise Control, Automated Emergency Braking, Pedestraindetection, Rollover-Control, Anti-Jacknife control, Anti-Lock braking,Traction Control, Lane Departure Warning, Lanekeeping Assistance,Sidewind compensation. It may also be combined with predictive enginecontrol, using the command from the system to optimize future engineinputs. With reference to FIG. 18, an embodiment by which such warningsand alerts are generated in accordance with the invention can be betterappreciated. A warning and alert processor 1800, which can either beintegrated with the control processor 1230 or be a separate processor,receives inputs from the vehicle sensors 1805, as well as the shortrange communication link 1810, and various driver sensors 1815including, for example, a sobriety sensor. In addition, the processor1800 receives input concerning the location on the road, any applicablegrade, and the state of the vehicle, as shown at 1820. If anunacceptable condition exists, the processor 1800 either causes an alert1825, which can take the form of sound, vibration, a visual display, orsome other signal intended to be immediately noticed by the driver, orthe processor causes an action 1830, such as braking and/or reduction inengine torque.

FIG. 19 illustrates yet another safety feature implemented in someembodiments of the invention. Braking is a key safety feature for trucksoperating either in linked mode or independently. The ability todetermine brake condition while underway is of significant value, andcan be accomplished by the method shown in FIG. 19. In particular, whilethe vehicle is moving, the driver applies the brakes at 1900. Thevehicle control unit 1300 samples the input from the vehicle sensor to(1) detect deceleration, shown at 1905; (2) detect wheel slip(s), shownat 1910; and, (3) detect brake air pressure, shown at 1915. Based on thecollective data, brake condition is calculated at 1920. The result ofthe calculation can be displayed to the driver or the fleet manager(through the long range communication link), and can provide a warningor alert if the brake condition is abnormal. Additionally, if the truckis available for linking, the result of the calculation at step 1920 canbe used to choose whether to link as part of a particular pair, shown at1925. If a link is to be made, the calculation can be used to determinewhich truck of the pair should lead, 1930, or to adjust the gap oralgorithm, 1935.

Referring next to FIGS. 20A-B, an embodiment for collecting data aboutthe operation of a particular truck, and a fleet as a whole, can bebetter appreciated. A variety of measured data 2000A-n, includingvehicle speed, fuel consumption, historical data, braking information,gear information, driver sensors, gap information, weather, and grade asjust some examples, are provided to the central server or the on-boardsystem 2010. The server or other processor 2010 calculates a selectionof metrics including miles per gallon, driver efficiency, savings, timelinked, availability of linkings, and numerous variations. From these,selected metrics can be displayed to the driver, 2020, or the fleetmanager 2030, or can be used to provide driver incentives, 2040. Anexemplary display 2050 for the driver is illustrated in FIG. 20B,particularly by showing the savings per mile achieved by the driver.

Data from the vehicles can provide specific information on bestpractices for a variety of aspects of driving. First, the data must beaggregated to form a database of best practice. This can take the formof an average (or median) of data traces, or can be calculated based ona weighted cost function. In one algorithm, higher fuel economy tracesare weighted more heavily, and a weighted average is then calculated foreach control input. In another, the drive is separated into segments andthe single best drive for each of those segments is identified. Otherconsiderations can also be factors, for example mechanicalconsiderations such as engine overheating, brake condition and others.

This database of best practices may also be a function of truck andconditions. In one embodiment, there is a separate best practice foreach model of truck. Once this best practices data is created, it can beapplied to a wide variety of control inputs. These include gearselection, speed selection, route selection. It can include the specificmeans to attain each of these selections, including pedal application,transmission retarder activation, compression (jake) brake application.These optimized control inputs can then be communicated to either thedriver or an automated system, or a combination thereof. If to anautomated system, these can be used to adjust the target speed, orshifting selection or other parameters of the automation system.

In some embodiments, various optimal inputs can also be suggested to thedriver by displaying them on the visual display or other device. Inaddition, current inputs can be overlayed with calculated best inputs.We can also show the potential improvement, for example showing thecurrent miles per gallon and the anticipated miles per gallon if thesuggested choices are implemented.

The collected data can also be shown after the drive itself, either tothe fleet manager, the driver, or other interested parties. This canalso be used to adjust various aspects of the fleet operation, such aswhich driver drives in which location, which truck is used for eachroute, or dispatch times.

In sum, the present invention provides systems and methods for aSemi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying. The advantages of such a systeminclude the ability to follow closely together in a safe, efficient,convenient manner.

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and substituteequivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. Althoughsub-section titles have been provided to aid in the description of theinvention, these titles are merely illustrative and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present invention.

It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways ofimplementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It istherefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted asincluding all such alterations, modifications, permutations, andsubstitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized vehicular convoying controlsystem, useful in association with a plurality of vehicles to identifyone or more opportunities to form a convoy of a lead vehicle and atleast one following vehicle, the control system comprising, on the atleast one following vehicle: a first computerized controller, responsiveto remotely-transmitted information regarding the lead vehicle and theat least one following vehicle, and configured to compute a smoothtrajectory for the at least one following vehicle as part of theidentification of the opportunity to convoy, the information regardingthe lead vehicle and the at least one following vehicle being selectedfrom the group consisting of: vehicle location, vehicle destination,vehicle load, vehicle type, and trailer type; a first inter-vehiculartransceiver configured to enable communications between the firstcomputerized controller and a second computerized controller on the leadvehicle; a first vehicular separation sensor configured to detect adistance between the lead vehicle and the at least one followingvehicle, and further configured to detect a relative speed between thelead vehicle and the at least one following vehicle, and to provide suchdistance and relative speed to the first computerized controller; and afirst user interface configured to receive an input from the firstcomputerized controller and to provide vehicular data to a driver. 2.The convoying control system of claim 1 further comprising: a firstbraking actuation sensor configured to measure brake actuation and toprovide such brake actuation measurements to the first computerizedcontroller; a first supplemental braking actuator responsive to inputsfrom the first computerized controller to vary braking of the at leastone following vehicle; a first acceleration actuation sensor formeasuring acceleration actuation and providing such measuredacceleration to the first computerized controller; and a firstsupplemental acceleration actuator responsive to the first computerizedcontroller to vary acceleration of the at least one following vehicle.3. The convoying control system of claim 1, further comprising: along-range vehicular transceiver configured to communicate between acentral server and the first computerized controller.
 4. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 1, further comprising: a global positioningsystem (GPS) receiver providing positioning information to the firstcomputerized controller.
 5. The convoying control system of claim 1,additionally comprising, on the lead vehicle: a second computerizedcontroller that is responsive to remotely-transmitted informationregarding the lead vehicle and the at least one following vehicle, andconfigured to compute a smooth trajectory for the lead vehicle as partof the identification of the opportunity to convoy, the informationregarding the lead vehicle and the at least one following vehicle beingselected from the group consisting of: vehicle location, vehicledestination, vehicle load, vehicle type, and trailer type; a secondlong-range vehicular transceiver configured to communicate between acentral server and the second computerized controller; a second userinterface configured to receive an input from the second computerizedcontroller and to provide vehicular data to a driver; a secondinter-vehicular transceiver configured to enable communications betweenthe second computerized controller and the first computerizedcontroller; and a forward-facing camera configured to substantiallycapture a substantially frontal image as viewed from the lead vehicleand to provide such frontal image to the second computerized controller.6. The convoying control system of claim 5, wherein the substantiallyfrontal image is provided to the first computerized controller via thefirst and second inter-vehicular transceivers.
 7. The convoying controlsystem of claim 1, wherein the second inter-vehicular transceiver iscoupled to, and further configured to operate, a rear brake light of thelead vehicle independently of the lead vehicle's braking system as atransmitter of vehicular control signals from the lead vehicle to the atleast one following vehicle.
 8. The convoying control system of claim 1,wherein the first inter-vehicular transceiver and the secondinter-vehicular transceiver are configured to communicate using a radiofrequency.
 9. The convoying control system of claim 1, wherein the firstcomputerized controller detects at least one hazardous conditionselected from the group consisting of: lane drift, an obstacle in a laneof travel, a wet road surface, an icy road surface, a tire blowout,presence of pedestrians in the lane of travel, and the presence of aconstruction zone; and wherein the first computerized controller safelybrakes the at least one following vehicle upon detection of the at leastone hazardous condition, and alerts the driver upon detection of the atleast one hazardous condition.
 10. The convoying control system of claim9, wherein the first computerized controller alerts the driver byproviding a deceleration impulse.
 11. The convoying control system ofclaim 1, wherein the first computerized controller computes an orderingof the lead vehicle and the at least one following vehicle in accordancewith at least one of: a vehicle weight, a vehicle load, weathercondition, road condition, fuel remaining, fuel saving, accrued linkingtime, braking technology, brake pad wear, a vehicular linking location,and a destination address.
 12. The convoying control system of claim 1,wherein both the lead vehicle and the at least one following vehicle aretrucks.
 13. A computerized vehicular convoying control system, useful inassociation with a lead vehicle and at least one follower vehicle toimplement a convoy, the control system comprising, on the at least onefollower vehicle: a first computerized controller, responsive toremotely-transmitted information regarding the lead vehicle and the atleast one follower vehicle, and configured to monitor and controlacceleration and deceleration of the at least one follower vehicle,thereby maintaining a safe vehicular spacing between the lead vehicleand the at least one follower vehicle while moving, the informationregarding the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle beingselected from the group consisting of: vehicle location, vehicledestination, vehicle load, vehicle type, and trailer type; a first userinterface configured to receive an input from the lead computerizedcontroller and to provide vehicular data to a driver; a firstinter-vehicular transceiver configured to communicate between the firstcomputerized controller and a second computerized controller on the leadvehicle; a vehicular separation sensor configured to detect a distancebetween the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle, andfurther configured to detect a relative speed between the lead vehicleand the at least one follower vehicle, and to provide such distance andrelative speed to the first computerized controller.
 14. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 13, further comprising: a first brakingactuation sensor configured to measure brake actuation and to providesuch brake actuation measurements to the first computerized controller;a first supplemental braking actuator responsive to inputs from thefirst computerized controller to vary braking of the at least onefollower vehicle; a first acceleration actuation sensor for measuringacceleration actuation and providing such measured acceleration to thefirst computerized controller; a first supplemental accelerationactuator responsive to the first computerized controller to varyacceleration of the at least one follower vehicle.
 15. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 13, wherein the second computerized controlleris responsive to remotely-transmitted information regarding the leadvehicle and the at least one follower vehicle, and configured to monitoracceleration and deceleration of the at least one follower vehicle,thereby maintaining a safe vehicular spacing between the lead vehicleand the at least one follower vehicle while moving, the informationregarding the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle beingselected from the group consisting of: vehicle location, vehicledestination, vehicle load, vehicle type, and trailer type; the systemfurther comprising, on the lead vehicle: a second user interfaceconfigured to receive an input from the second computerized controllerand to provide vehicular data to a driver; and a second inter-vehiculartransceiver configured to communicate between the second computerizedcontroller and the first computerized controller.
 16. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 13, additionally comprising: a forward-facingcamera configured to substantially capture a substantially frontal imageas viewed from the lead vehicle and to provide such frontal image to thesecond computerized controller; and wherein the substantially frontalimage is provided to the first computerized controller via the first andsecond inter-vehicular transceivers.
 17. The convoying control system ofclaim 13, wherein the second inter-vehicular transceiver is coupled to,and further configured to operate, a rear brake light of the leadvehicle independently of the lead vehicle's braking system as atransmitter of vehicular control signals from the lead vehicle to the atleast one following vehicle.
 18. The convoying control system of claim13, wherein the first inter-vehicular transceiver and the secondinter-vehicular transceiver are configured to communicate using a radiofrequency.
 19. The convoying control system of claim 13 wherein thefirst computerized controller computes at least one vehicular trajectoryfor smoothly linking the at least one follower vehicle with the leadvehicle.
 20. The convoying control system of claim 13, wherein the firstcomputerized controller detects at least one hazardous conditionselected from the group consisting of: lane drift, an obstacle in a laneof travel, a wet road surface, an icy road surface, a tire blowout, thepresence of pedestrians in the lane of travel, and the presence of aconstruction zone; and wherein the at least one computerized controllersafely brakes at least one of the lead vehicle and the at least onefollower vehicle upon detection of the at least one hazardous condition,and alerts the driver upon detection of the at least one hazardouscondition.
 21. The convoying control system of claim 20, wherein thefirst computerized controller alerts the driver by providing adeceleration impulse.
 22. The convoying control system of claim 13,wherein the first computerized controller computes an ordering of thelead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle in accordance with atleast one of: a vehicle weight, a vehicle load, weather condition, roadcondition, fuel remaining, fuel saving, accrued linking time, brakingtechnology, brake pad wear a vehicular linking location, and adestination address.
 23. The convoying control system of claim 13,wherein both the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle aretrucks.
 24. A computerized vehicular convoying control system, useful inassociation with a lead vehicle and at least one follower vehicle, thecontrol system comprising: at least one computerized controllerconfigured to monitor and control acceleration and deceleration of oneof a lead vehicle and at least one follower vehicle; a user interfaceconfigured to receive an input from the at least one computerizedcontroller and to provide vehicular data to a driver; a long-rangevehicular transceiver configured to communicate between a central serverand the at least one computerized controller; an inter-vehiculartransceiver configured to communicate between the computerizedcontroller and at least one of the lead vehicle and the at least onefollower vehicle; and a vehicular separation sensor configured to detecta distance between the lead vehicle and the at least one followervehicle, and further configured to detect a relative speed between thelead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle, and to provide suchdistance and relative speed to the at least one computerized controller.25. The convoying control system of claim 24, further comprising: abraking actuation sensor configured to measure brake actuation and toprovide such brake actuation measurements to the at least onecomputerized controller; a supplemental braking actuator responsive toinputs from the at least one computerized controller to vary braking ofone of the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle; anacceleration actuation sensor for measuring acceleration actuation andproviding such measured acceleration to the at least one computerizedcontroller; a supplemental acceleration actuator responsive to the atleast one computerized controller to vary acceleration of one of thelead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle.
 26. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 24, further comprising: a vehicular positioningsensor providing relative positioning measures to the first computerizedcontroller.
 27. The convoying control system of claim 26, wherein thevehicular positioning sensor is a global positioning system (GPS)sensor.
 28. The convoying control system of claim 24, furthercomprising: a forward-facing camera configured to substantially capturea substantially frontal image as viewed from one of the lead vehicle andthe at least one follower vehicle and to provide such frontal image tothe at least one computerized controller.
 29. The convoying controlsystem of claim 28, wherein the forward-facing camera captures asubstantially frontal image as viewed from the lead vehicle, and thesubstantially frontal image from the lead vehicle is provided to the atleast one follower vehicle via the inter-vehicular transceiver.
 30. Theconvoying control system of claim 24 wherein the inter-vehiculartransceiver is configured to transmit using a radio frequency.
 31. Theconvoying control system of claim 24, wherein the inter-vehiculartransceiver is coupled to, and further configured to operate, a rearbrake light of the lead vehicle independently of the lead vehicle'sbraking system.
 32. The convoying control system of claim 31, whereinthe inter-vehicular transceiver is further configured to operate a rearbrake light of the lead vehicle as a transmitter of vehicular controlsignals from the lead vehicle to the at least one follower vehicle. 33.The convoying control system of claim 24, wherein the at least onecomputerized controller is further configured to compute an estimatedgross weight of one of the lead vehicle and the at least one followervehicle by measuring or estimating engine torque and measuring orestimating vehicle acceleration.
 34. The convoying control system ofclaim 24, wherein the at least one computerized controller computes atleast one vehicular trajectory for smoothly linking the at least onefollower vehicle with the lead vehicle.
 35. The convoying control systemof claim 24, wherein the at least one computerized controller safelydecelerates at least one of the lead vehicle and the at least onefollower vehicle in the event of a malfunction of the convoying controlsystem.
 36. The convoying control system of claim 24, wherein the atleast one computerized controller detects at least one hazardouscondition from the group consisting of: a lane drift, a lane obstacle, aroad surface hazard due to wet conditions, a road surface hazard due toicy conditions, a tire blowout, a presence of pedestrians or animals inthe lane of travel, and the presence of a construction zones; andwherein the at least one computerized controller brakes at least one ofthe lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle upon detection ofthe at least one hazardous condition, and alerts the driver upondetection of the at least one hazardous condition.
 37. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 36, wherein the at least one computerizedcontroller alerts the driver by providing a deceleration impulse. 38.The convoying control system of claim 24 wherein the at least onecomputerized controller computes an ordering of the lead vehicle and theat least one follower vehicle in accordance with at least one of avehicle weight, a vehicle load, weather condition, road condition, fuelremaining, fuel saving, accrued linking time, braking technology, brakepad wear, a vehicular linking location, and destination address.
 39. Theconvoying control system of claim 24, wherein the at least onecomputerized controller optimizes fuel consumption by activating agrade-aware cruise control algorithm.
 40. The convoying control systemof claim 24, wherein the at least one computerized controller optimizesfuel consumption by providing at least one recommendation to the driver,the at least one recommendation including at least one of: gearselection, speed reduction, and a recommended vehicular relative lateralposition.
 41. The convoying control system of claim 24, wherein both thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle are trucks.
 42. In a computerizedvehicular convoying control system, a vehicular convoying method forcontrolling a lead vehicle and at least one follower vehicle, theconvoying method comprising: monitoring and controlling acceleration anddeceleration of one of a lead vehicle and at least one follower vehicle;communicating between a central server and one of the lead vehicle andthe at least one follower vehicle; communicating between the leadvehicle and the at least one follower vehicle; detecting a distancebetween the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle;detecting a relative speed between the lead vehicle and the at least onefollower vehicle; and providing vehicular data to a driver; and usingthe detected distance and the relative speed to maintain a vehicularspacing between the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle.43. The convoying method of claim 42, wherein detecting the distance andthe relative speed includes emitting a radar signal.
 44. The convoyingmethod of claim 42, further comprising: providing one of supplementalbraking and supplemental acceleration to one of the lead vehicle and theat least one follower vehicle to maintain the vehicular spacing.
 45. Theconvoying method of claim 42, further comprising: capturing asubstantially frontal image as viewed from the lead vehicle andtransmitting the image to the at least one follower vehicle.